ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, VSM assumes Charge as Flag Officer Sea Training 
Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, VSM, has assumed charge as Flag Officer Sea Training  at Kochi on 18 Mar 19.
Rear Admiral Swaminathan, a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 Jul 87, and is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla at Pune; the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham in the United Kingdom; the College of Naval Warfare, Karanja at Mumbai, and the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He has commanded five frontline ships of the Indian Navy including the missile vessels, INS Vidyut and INS Vinash; the missile corvette, INS Kulish; the guided missile destroyer, INS Mysore; and the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
Prior to assuming charge as FOST, the Admiral was the Chief Staff Officer  at Headquarters Southern Naval Command and played a key role in the conduct of all training in the Indian Navy. He was also instrumental in raising the Indian Naval Safety Team that oversees operational safety across all domains of the Navy.
The officer has a BSc degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, MA in Defence Studies from King’s College, London, MPhil in Strategic Studies from the Mumbai University and a PhD in International Studies from the Mumbai University.
FOST functions under the operational and administrative jurisdiction of Flag Officer Commanding-in–Chief, Southern Naval Command. His charter includes conduct of operational sea training for ships of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard by enhancing crew proficiency in all aspects, including safe navigation practices, damage control and firefighting drills, weapon firings as well as seamanship training.
The officer has taken over the appointment from Rear Admiral Sanjay J Singh, NM, who has proceeded to Mumbai to assume his next appointment as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet .
DKS/SW/AC
(Visitor Counter : 1639
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Ministry of I&B cracks down on fake news peddling YouTube Channels
PIB Fact Check exposes over hundred videos on six channels that have monetized fake news; garnered over 50 crore views
Busted channels part of fake news economy; have a combined following of over 20 lakhs
Channels using clickbait thumbnails to peddle fake news pertaining to President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers and Election Commission
The PIB Fact Check Unit  of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting busted six YouTube channels which were working in a coordinated manner and spreading false information in India. The Fact Check Unit released six separate Twitter threads having over 100 fact-checks to counter the fake news spread by these channels. This is the second such action from the Unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting where entire channels have been busted.
The six YouTube channels were found to be operating as part of a coordinated disinformation network, had nearly 20 lakh subscribers and their videos have been watched over 51 crore times. Details of these YouTube channels fact-checked by PIB are as under:
|
|
SI. No.
|
|
Name of YouTube Channel
|
|
Subscribers
|
|
Views
|
|
-
|
|
Nation Tv
|
|
5.57 Lakh
|
|
21,09,87,523
|
|
-
|
|
Samvaad Tv
|
|
10.9 Lakh
|
|
17,31,51,998
|
|
-
|
|
Sarokar Bharat
|
|
21.1 thousand
|
|
45,00,971
|
|
-
|
|
Nation 24
|
|
25.4 thousand
|
|
43,37,729
|
|
-
|
|
Swarnim Bharat
|
|
6.07 thousand
|
|
10,13,013
|
|
-
|
|
Samvaad Samachar
|
|
3.48 Lakh
|
|
11,93,05,103
|
|
Total
|
|
20.47 Lakh
|
|
51,32,96,337
The YouTube channels exposed by the PIB Fact Check unit spread fake news about the elections, proceedings in the Supreme Court and Parliament of India, functioning of the Government of India, etc. Examples include false claims regarding ban on Electronic Voting Machines, and false statements attributed to senior Constitutional functionaries including the Hon’ble President of India, Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.
The channels are part of a fake news economy that thrives on monetization of fake news. The channels use fake, clickbait and sensational thumbnails and images of television news anchors of TV Channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic and drive traffic to their channels in order to monetize the videos published by them.
This is the second such action by PIB Fact Check Unit. In an earlier major action, on 20th December, 2022, the Unit had exposed three channels peddling fake news.
Links of the Twitter threads posted by PIB Fact-Check Unit:
- Fact-checks on videos of Nation Tv:
- Fact-checks on videos of Samvaad Tv:
- Fact-checks on videos of Sarokar Bharat:
- Fact-checks on videos of Nation 24:
- Fact-checks on videos of Swarnim Bharat:
- Fact-checks on videos of Samvaad Samachar:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
PIB, Kolkata organizes media workshop "Vartalap" in Birbhum
Kolkata, November, 30, 2018
To sensitize the journalists about various Centrally-sponsored schemes and create awareness among the masses, a day-long media workshop "Vartalap" was held by Press Information Bureau , Kolkata at Suri, Birbhum district of West Bengal today. Addressing the function, Smt. Jane Namchu, Additional Director General, PIB, Kolkata said, the objective of the workshop is to enlighten the masses through media with regard to their welfare measures taken by the Union Government. Smt. Namchu urged the journalists to look at the impact of the several Centrally-sponsored schemes for welfare of the people and write more on those to aware the people to access the benefits. She further said, in the present digital era, live cabinet decisions, and videos on cabinet briefings can also be seen on YouTube.
Shri Biplab Loho Choudhury, Professor and Head, Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication, Viswa Bharti University and Country Director, Asian Congress for Media and Communication and Shri Swapan Kumar Ghosh, senior journalist from Bolpur in their addresses, prescribed the ways and means as how to utilize PIB items, features and other materials for making a good news report, both in print and electronic media.
Highlighting utility of press releases and write-ups and official data issued round the clock by PIB in context of the journalists working at the district-level, Shri Ajay Mhamia, Dy. Director, PIB, Kolkata said, it is essential for media-persons to know about different Government schemes in detail so that proper information can reach to the people at ground level and urged them to work in constant coordination with PIB to disseminate authentic information.
Shri Ritankar Kundu, Manager, Lead Bank, UCO Bank, Birbhum, spoke about the success on the various banking schemes like Jan-Dhan Yojana, MUDRA Yojana and also disclosed about the bank’s endeavour to help Stand-Ups in the district.
The workshop concluded with an interactive session in which Shri Ajay Mhamia responded to various queries of the media persons. Around 70 media persons including three women journalists participated in the workshop which became so lively and participative in nature that it was appreciated by most of the media persons present
Media and Communication Officer, PIB, Kolkata, Smt. Srijata Saha Sahu conducted the event. Shri Samrat Bandhopadhyay moved the vote of thanks. Shri Santanu Sinha gave an audio visual presentation of PIB utilities, including the diversified multilingual pages of reference matter that has been made available on the revamped PIB website.
Ministry of Finance
Government invites comments of Stakeholders and General Public on Proposed Amendments to Income-tax Rules,1962 by 4th September, 2018
Income-tax Rules, 1962  prescribe Form No.13 for filing an application for seeking a certificate under Section 197 and/or under Section 206C  of the Income-tax Act, 1961 , for no deduction of tax or deduction/collection of tax at lower rate.
In order to rationalise and make the process of issuance of certificate for no deduction of tax or deduction/collection of tax at lower rate electronic, the existing Form No.13 and relevant I.T. Rules are required to be amended. This is vital for minimising the human interface and reducing the compliance burden on the applicant.
In view of the above, a Draft Notification proposing amendments in Form No. 13, and Rules 28, 28AA, 28AB, 37G and 37H of the IT Rules has been uploaded on the website of the Income Tax Department www.incometaxindia.gov.in for comments from stakeholders and general public.
Comments and suggestions on the Draft Notification may be sent by 4th September, 2018 electronically at the email address ts.mapwal[at]nic[dot]in.
Ministry of Defence
NON-LAPSABLE DEFENCE MODERNISATION FUND
A proposal for creation of Non-Lapsable Defence Modernisation Fund  is under consideration with Ministry of Defence. DMF will be available for modernization of Defence Forces and would supplement the regular yearly budgetary allocations by eliminating any uncertainty in provisioning of adequate funds for various defence capability development and infrastructure projects.
A suitable mechanism for operationalising the fund is being worked out in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri Balashowry Vallabhaneni in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Revamping of Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro & Small Enterprises with effect from 01.04.2023
CGTMSE issues guidelines regarding reduction of annual guarantee fee for loans upto Rs. 1 crore from a peak rate of 2% per annum to as low as 0.37% per annum
Limit on ceiling for guarantees enhanced from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 5 crore
In Union Budget 2023-24, Union Finance Minister Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman announced the revamping of Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro & Small Enterprises with effect from 01.04.2023, with an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore to the corpus to enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs. 2 lakh crore and the reduction in the cost of the credit by about 1 per cent.
Consequent upon this, the following significant steps have been taken:
- The corpus of Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises  has been infused with a sum of Rs. 8,000 crore on 30.03.2023.
- CGTMSE has issued guidelines regarding reduction of annual guarantee fee for loans upto Rs. 1 crore from a peak rate of 2% per annum to as low as 0.37% per annum. This will reduce the overall cost of credit to the Micro & Small Enterprises to a great extent.
- The limit on ceiling for guarantees has been enhanced from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 5 crore.
- For settlement of claims in respect of guarantees for loan outstanding upto Rs. 10 lakh, initiation of legal proceedings will no longer be required.
CGTMSE created a new landmark by touching the milestone figure of approving guarantees worth Rs. 1 lakh crore during FY 2022 - 23.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
MOC Approves CWG Medallists Avinash Sable and Tejaswin Shankar’s proposals to train and compete abroad; Jumpers to head for Greece
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports ’s Mission Olympic Cell  has approved Commonwealth Games  medallists Avinash Sable and Tejaswin Shankar’s proposals to train and compete abroad.
While Sable, who is currently training in Colorado Springs under Target Olympic Podium Scheme  funding will head to Rabat, Morocco for 8 days training camp ahead of Rabat Diamond League, Tejaswin will head to Freeport, Bahamas, and then later to -Tucson, Arizona to compete in USATF Throws Festival in Bahamas and NACAC New Life Invitational in Arizona.
During the meeting, MOC also approved jumpers Jeswin Aldrin, Praveen Chithravel, and T. Selva Prabhu’s proposal for training and competitions in Greece, Italy, and France respectively.
While Jeswin will train in Athens, Greece, and then compete in International Jumping Meeting “Filahtlitikos Kallithea” and Venizelia - Chania International Meeting, Praveen will first train in Athens, Greece, compete in International Jumping Meeting “Filahtlitikos Kallithea” and then move to Florence, Italy to prepare for the Golden Gala Diamond League.
Meanwhile, T. Selva Prabhu first head to train and compete in Greece, before heading to Paris, France for further training.
All athletes’ expenses would be covered under Target Olympic Podium Scheme  funding and would cover their Airfare, Visa Fees, Medical Insurance, Local Transport costs, Boarding & Lodging fees, and Out of Pocket Allowance  amongst other expenses.
Ministry of Finance
PSBs opened 316 branches in rural areas out of total 927 branches in FY 2022-23
In terms of the revised guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India  vide circular dated May 18, 2017, the term 'Branch" has been substituted by "Banking Outlet " which includes both brick and mortar branches and Business Correspondent  outlets to enable Banks in expanding their network even in remote rural areas in a cost-effective manner for hassle free services to customers in rural areas. This was stated by Union Minister for State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
The year-wise number of branches of PSBs opened in rural areas during the current plan period, is as under–
|
|
FY
|
|
Total Branches opened
|
|
Out of which, number of rural branches
opened
|
|
2018-19
|
|
430
|
|
128
|
|
2019-20
|
|
545
|
|
130
|
|
2020-21
|
|
651
|
|
75
|
|
2021-22
|
|
476
|
|
100
|
|
2022-23
|
|
927
|
|
316
Source: RBI
The State Bank of India  has informed that a survey for opening of new branches has been carried out in 80 villages.
Moreover, the Minister stated, rolling out of banking outlets in uncovered areas is a continuous process, looked after by the State/ UT Level Bankers' Committee , in consultation with the concerned State/ UT Government, member banks and other stakeholders. Banks, however, inter-alia, consider proposals for opening banking outlets in the light of RBI's instructions, their business plans and their commercial viability.
Further, the Minister stated, RBI has granted general permission to domestic Scheduled Commercial Banks  to open banking outlets including branch at any place in the country, without seeking prior approval of RBI in each case, subject to at least 25 percent of the total number of banking outlets opened during a financial year being in unbanked rural centres i.e. centres having population less than 10,000 .
|
|
No.
|
|
AREA
|
|
AGREEMENT/MOU
|
|
AREAS OF COOPERATION
|
|
SIGNATORY FROM INDIA
|
|
SIGNATORY FROM RWANDA
|
|
1.
|
|
Agriculture Signed on 31.5.2007
|
|
Amendment on the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Animal Resources
|
|
Cooperation in agriculture and livestock with strong emphasis on research, technological development, capacity building and human resource development as well as investment mobilization.
|
|
Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary , Ministry of External Affairs
|
|
Hon. Geraldine Mukeshimana, Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources
|
|
2.
|
|
Defence
|
|
Agreement on Cooperation Defence on Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.
|
|
Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.
|
|
Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary , Ministry of External Affairs
|
|
Hon. James KABAREBE,
Minister of Defence
|
|
3.
|
|
Culture
First signed in 1975
|
|
MoU on Cultural Exchange Program for the year 2018-22
|
|
Music and Dance, Theatre, Exhibitions, Seminars and Conference, Archeology, Archives, Library, Museums, Literature, Research and Documentation etc
|
|
Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary , Ministry of External Affairs
|
|
Hon. Uwacu Julienne,
Minister of Sports and Culture
|
|
4.
|
|
Dairy Cooperation
|
|
MoU on Agricultural Research and Education between RAB and ICAR
|
|
Training and Research in Dairy, Processing of Dairy Products, Quality and Safety of Mil, Biotechnological Intervention in Livestock
|
|
Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary , Ministry of External Affairs
|
|
Mr. Patrick KARANGWA, PhD.
Director General
|
|
5.
|
|
Leather and Allied Sectors
|
|
MoU on Collaboration in the Areas of Leather and Allied Sectors between NIRDA and CSIR-CLRI
|
||
|
Dr. B. Chandrasekaran, Director , CSIR- CLRI
|
|
Ms. Kampeta Sayinzoga
Director General, NIRDA
|
|
6.
|
|
LOC Agreements
|
|
LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for development of Industrial Parks and expansion of Kigali Special Economic Zones
|
||
|
Nadeem Panjetan, Chief General Manager,EXIM Bank
|
|
Hon. Dr. Uzziel NDAGIJIMANA Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
|
|
7.
|
|
LOC Agreemnts
|
|
LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for Agriculture irrigation scheme in Rwanda
|
||
|
Nadeem Panjetan, Chief General Manager,EXIM Bank
|
|
Hon. Dr. Uzziel NDAGIJIMANA Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
|
|
8.
|
|
Trade
|
|
Trade Cooperation Framework
|
|
Facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
|
|
Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary , Ministry of External Affairs
|
|
Hon. Vincent MUNYESHYAKA
Minister of Trade and Industry
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Capacity Enhancement Workshop for conservation of wildlife organized at National Zoological Park
A three-day Capacity Enhancement Workshop for Zoo Keepers of Northern Region was organized at National Zoological Park, New Delhi  in collaboration with Central Zoo Authority  from 13-15 March 2023.
Member Secretary, Central Zoo Authority, Dr. Sanjay Shukla, presided over the inaugural session on the first day, which was followed by presentations on the National Zoological Park and workshops on the overview of the zoo and its primary goals.
On second day, a field visit to demonstrate the daily tasks of the zoo keepers was conducted. This was followed by theory sessions outlining the duties and responsibility of Zoo keepers, Housing and upkeep of Animals, etc. On the third day, participants were trained on the basics of record keeping, and health care of captive animals. The focus of the hands-on training was to develop ideas that will provide a species-appropriate stimulating environment, which promotes positive behavior.
A total of 34 participants from 19 Zoos of six States participated in the workshop for the conservation of wildlife in captivity. Workshop completion certificates and souvenirs were distributed to all the participants by the Joint Director, National Zoological Park.
Prime Minister's Office
PM pays tributes to the former Prime Minister of India Shri Moraji Desai on his birth anniversary
PM paid tributes to the former Prime Minister of India Shri Moraji Desai on his birth anniversary. The Prime Minister said “He always did politics based on discipline and principles, for which he will always be remembered.”
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Digitization of Ration Cards completed in all States/UTs; Nearly 19.5 Crore Ration Cards digitized
99% of total 19.5 Crore Ration Cards under NFSA seeded with Aadhaar Number
The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that the digitization of ration cardshas been completed in all States/UTs and 19.5 Crore  Ration Cards are available on transparency portal of respective States/UTs.
A statement showing State/UT-wise progress of Aadhaar seeding in ration card is Annexed.
99% of total 19.5 Crore ration cards under NFSA have already been seeded with Aadhaar number . States/UTs have been given time upto30th September, 2022 to complete the Aadhaar seeding of the remaining ration cards.
For effective implementation and bringing transparency in Public Distribution System , Government has implemented a scheme - “End-to-end Computerization of Targeted Public distribution System  Operations”. Under this scheme, various activities were carried out such as digitization of ration cards/beneficiary and other databases, online allocation, computerization of supply-chain management, setting up of transparency portal and grievance redressal mechanism, etc. Besides, automation of fair price shop  had also been done which involves installation of electronic Point of Sale  device at FPS for authentication of beneficiaries and electronic capturing of transaction data. About 5.32 lakh FPSs out of total 5.33 lakh FPSs across the country have been automated so far.
Annexure
A statement showing State/UT-wise progress of Aadhaar seeding in ration card
|
|
Sl.
|
|
States/UTs
|
|
% Seeding of Ration Cards
|
|
1
|
|
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
|
|
100%
|
|
2
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
|
100%
|
|
3
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
|
85%
|
|
4
|
|
Assam
|
|
93%
|
|
5
|
|
Bihar
|
|
100%
|
|
6
|
|
Chandigarh
|
|
100%
|
|
7
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
|
100%
|
|
8
|
|
Dadra & NH and Daman Diu
|
|
100%
|
|
9
|
|
Delhi
|
|
100%
|
|
10
|
|
Goa
|
|
100%
|
|
11
|
|
Gujarat
|
|
100%
|
|
12
|
|
Haryana
|
|
100%
|
|
13
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
|
100%
|
|
14
|
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
|
100%
|
|
15
|
|
Jharkhand
|
|
98%
|
|
16
|
|
Karnataka
|
|
100%
|
|
17
|
|
Kerala
|
|
100%
|
|
18
|
|
Ladakh
|
|
99%
|
|
19
|
|
Lakshadweep
|
|
100%
|
|
20
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
|
100%
|
|
21
|
|
Maharashtra
|
|
100%
|
|
22
|
|
Manipur
|
|
99%
|
|
23
|
|
Meghalaya
|
|
38%
|
|
24
|
|
Mizoram
|
|
98%
|
|
25
|
|
Nagaland
|
|
92%
|
|
26
|
|
Odisha
|
|
99%
|
|
27
|
|
Puducherry
|
|
97.4%
|
|
28
|
|
Punjab
|
|
100%
|
|
29
|
|
Rajasthan
|
|
100%
|
|
30
|
|
Sikkim
|
|
100%
|
|
31
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
|
100%
|
|
32
|
|
Telangana
|
|
100%
|
|
33
|
|
Tripura
|
|
100%
|
|
34
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
|
100%
|
|
35
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
|
100%
|
|
36
|
|
West Bengal
|
|
95%
|
|
|
|
National Summary
|
|
99.1%
Ministry of External Affairs
Cabinet approves Agreement on Social Security between India and Brazil
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for signing the Agreement on Social Security between the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil.
Background
India has been entering into bilateral Social Security Agreements  with other countries in order to protect the interests of Indian professionals / skilled workers working abroad for short durations and enhance the competitiveness of Indian companies.
SSAs broadly provide the following three benefits:
- Avoiding making of double social security contributions by the workers ;
- Easy remittance of benefits ;
- Aggregating the contribution periods  to prevent loss of benefits . The agreement will also provide for disability insurance benefits to the Indian nationals working abroad. As on date, India has signed SSAs with 18 countries.
The idea to ink pacts on social security programmes with BRICS nations was discussed at the meetings of the BRICS Labour& Employment Ministers held on 9 June 2016 in Geneva and on 27-28 September 2016 in New Delhi, respectively. The possibility of concluding social security agreements between BRICS countries also finds mention in the Goa Declaration of the 8th BRICS Leaders’ Summit. Taking forward the spirit of the Goa Declaration, India and Brazil held the negotiations on SSA from 13-16 March 2017 in Brasilia. At the end of the negotiations, both sides initialled the finalized text of the Agreement on Social Security.
The signed agreement will be hosted on the Ministry’s website and the website of Employee’s Provident Fund Organisation for the information of the stakeholders so that they can secure certificates of coverage to avoid making double social security contributions.
At present, about 1,000 Brazilians are living in India, while about 4,700 Indians are living in Brazil. All posted/detached workers and self-employed persons will benefit from this proposal without any discrimination. Thus, it would promote equity and inclusiveness. Export of Social Security benefits of Indian workers after their relocation from Brazil is an innovative arrangement to ensure that there is no loss of social security benefits and also adds to the competitiveness of Indian companies by reducing their overall costs.
The SSA will cover the territories of the Republic of India and the Federative Republic of Brazil.